Buried Alive
by John Hawkman
Summary: After a fight with Underboss at a cemetery, Dan wakes up six feet under and has to escape. Oneshot. Pre-Keene Act


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"Huuurrh!" Nite Owl gasped

He woke up suddenly, as if from a bad dream. Dan looked around, seeing where he was. How had he gotten there? It was during a fight with Underboss, at the cemetery…oh god. Dan stretched out his arms and legs, realizing that he was in a coffin.

"No, no, no!" Dan exclaimed

OK, don't panic, he told himself, you've practiced for this. Dan reached to his belt, and took out a flashlight. He switched it on, seeing his surroundings. Solid oak coffin, standard size.

"Nite Owl to Rorschach," he said, taking out his radio

There was a brief silence.

"Hello, Daniel," Rorschach said

"Rorschach, where are you?" Dan demanded

"Lower East side," Rorschach replied, "Racketeer wanted protection money. I showed him what he really needed protection from."

"Look, can you get to Glenwood Cemetery?" Nite Owl asked, "I had a run in with Underboss."

"Need lift to hospital?"

"No. I'm six feet under."

More silence.

"OK. Will be right over. Trust shovel is in Archie?"

"Yeah."

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Dan checked his belt; Underboss had taken his laser, smoke bombs, and his respirators, but he still had his flashlight and radio, which he had concealed in his cape pocket. Dan also had his secret weapon. He tore the moon symbol off of his belt buckle, and pressed a hidden button on the back of it. A small blade shot out of the top end, and Dan jammed it into the coffin lid. He made a deep cut in it then began punching it. His gloves were leather, and had steel plates in the knuckles. Dan broke through the wood, and a little dirt poured through. A smile appeared on Dan's face; he was going to live.

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Twenty minutes later…

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Dan was digging through the dirt, desperately clawing at it with his belt-buckle knife. He had created a tunnel almost a foot tall above the tunnel. He hoped that Underboss had gone with a traditional six-feet deep grave, and not anything extreme.

"Rorschach to Daniel," Rorschach said, over the radio, "Entering cemetery. Need location."

"Right…" Dan hadn't thought about that, "I take it Archie's still there?"

"Parked by front gate."

"Super. Now, if you just go inside and fire up the engines, there's a device that can point you in my general direction. It's right underneath the picture of the Crimebusters meeting."

"Don't have key."

"That's no problem," Dan replied, "You just have to open up panel 4-B, reconnect all the red wires into the yellow ports, then reverse the…"

There was a loud crash.

"You just smashed the window, didn't you?" Dan grimaced

"Uh huh."

"…OK, that's fine. Just get over here."

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Fifteen minutes later, Dan had climbed an extra foot; he was very worn out, and the oxygen was quite thin. How long had he been knocked out in there before waking up? An hour? Two hours? The only thing giving him hope was the faint thumping above him.

"Nite Owl to Rorschach," Dan attempted

His gloves were covered with mud; the radio slipped out of his hands, falling to the coffin. The smash nearly broke Dan's spirit, but he still continued.

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Ten minutes later, Dan was completely exhausted. He reached into his belt pocket, and took out a Veidt Industries Nutrient Bar. They were designed to maximize strength and give athletes the motivation to win. Adrian gave Dan all the Veidt bars he wanted, provided he only ate them in private; a vigilante endorsement would be bad for the company.

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Dan had gone mad, and started hitting the dirt above him; he was that desperate. There was barely any air left, and it was stale. Dan punched through the dirt with his bare fist, feeling the air on his exposed skin. Suddenly, a gloved-hand grabbed his arm, and pulled him up with incredible strength.

"Hello Daniel."

Even with his mud-covered goggles on, Dan could tell it was his friend.

"Hey buddy…" Dan tore the goggles off, "Did you have trouble finding the place?"

"Few of Underboss's men were still around. Had to finish them off before I could dig. Good thing I had shovel."

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The End


End file.
